Creating Custom Runtime Images

Abstract

Before JDK 9, Java runtime image was available as a huge monolithic artifact—thus increasing the download time, startup time, and the memory footprint. The monolithic JRE made it impossible to use Java on devices with small memory. If you deploy your Java applications to a cloud, you pay for the memory you use; most often, the monolithic JRE uses more memory than required, thus making you pay more for the cloud service. The Compact profiles introduced in Java 8 took a step forward to reduce the JRE size—hence the runtime memory footprint—by allowing you to package a subset of the JRE in a custom runtime image called a compact profile.